Ask TSL: Are Brita Water Pitchers Made From Safe Plastic?
February 9, 2008 by Alicia
Filed under Ask TSL, Featured, Food Storage Containers, Reusable Bottles for Adults, Safer Materials
We’ve been asked a lot lately about the safety of Brita pitchers. Many parents use Brita to filter and store water for mixing baby formula and juices. It makes good sense to scrutinize all food and beverage containers when trying to remove BPA from your child’s environment.
UPDATE 9/17/09: While you may not be able to find information on Brita’s website regarding BPA, you can call them at (800) 24 BRITA for the scoop. The first thing you’ll hear is a statement confirming that each of their products is 100% BPA-free.
We checked with Simple Steps to find the answer. Here’s what they learned in speaking with the Brita company:
A company representative tells us that there are 2 main parts to the pitchers. The clear bottom part which holds the filtered water is made from 100% styrene acrylonitrile and the reservoir part of the pitcher (as well as the filter canister which goes inside) is made of 100% polypropylene. Therefore, it appears that Brita filter pitchers do not contain any polycarbonate plastic and are not made from the same material as Nalgene or Avent baby bottles. That’s good news for Brita users.
The Green Guide also recommends Brita pitchers as a safe option in their article, “Are Brita Containers Safe?”
UPDATE 4/2/08: In response to a comment left by one of our readers questioning the safety of styrene, we thought it would help to include the whole article by The Green Guide regarding the possibility of leaching. Also, please keep in mind that there are many different types of plastic made with styrene, such as polystyrene, which is known to leach toxins into food.
Are Brita Containers Safe?
by Carolyn Banta
A reader writes The Green Guide:
I use a 2-gallon Brita filter system. I recently discovered that the container is made of styrene methylmethacrylate copolymer. Will this type of plastic leak chemicals into my water? If so, is there an inexpensive alternative that you would recommend? I’m sure many of your readers use a Brita system and would benefit from knowing about this plastic.
Thanks, Michael Lande
The Green Guide responds:
It is true that Brita filter systems use containers made from styrene methylmethacrylate copolymer, which is a polymer (a combination of molecules) primarily used in the production of acrylic sheeting, molding powders and resin and surface coatings. According to Brita, the company manufactures containers made from styrene methylmethacrylate copolymer to avoid leaching.
Brita’s information on leaching came from the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), which performs extensive material safety tests. The NSF states that Brita pitchers have been tested for material safety while in contact with “very aggressive water” (i.e. exposure to water with low total of dissolved solids and .5 ppm of available chlorine for three successive 24-hour periods) and have found no evidence of leaching.
Rick Andrews, the technical manager of the Drinking Water Treatment Unit Certification Program at the NSF, explains that when a company is seeking NSF certification for new container/filter system, NSF requires information about the constituents of the plastic and then tests for leachates they know are associated with those ingredients. Using acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) as an example, they would look for styrene and acrylonitrile leaching into the water. We asked about styrene leaching from the methylmethacrylate copolymer, and he assured us that any polymer that includes a styrene component would be tested for styrene leaching.
For a second opinion, we also checked with the FDA. Their report on styrene methylmethacrylate also found that it may be safely used in repeat contact with foods without risk of leaching.
The bottom line is that The Green Guide sees no reason not to use Brita pitchers so long as they are the correct filter for the contaminants in your tap water.
